General Family Research Articles

Physico-chemical characterization of Synperonic™ 91/5 self-assembly behaviour in water

We studied the self-assembled aggregates of Synperonic™ 91/5 (SYN) in water solution. This surfactant presents the peculiarity of having an odd number of aliphatic carbons, with a tail composed of C9H19 and C11H23, and the headgroup having an average of 5 ethoxy units. While the general family of CiEOj nonionic surfactants has been widely studied, there is little knowledge for the case of surfactants with odd-number carbons. For this reason, we carried out an in depth physico-chemical characterization of water solutions containing SYN in the wide range of concentration from 2 % to 50 % (i.e. 0.05–1.4 M), considering that high concentrated systems are relevant for industrial applications. This class of surfactants is also interesting as remediation agent since they can incorporate different polluting molecules, both polar and nonpolar, such as volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Dense Non Aqueous Phase liquids (DNAPLs). The rheological and transport properties of SYN solutions were investigated through diffusion coefficients and viscosity, while shape and size of self-assemblies were determined by Dynamic Light Scattering and by Small Angle Scattering of Neutrons (SANS) and X-rays (SAXS). Results show that SYN generally behaves as other nonionic surfactants in dilute solutions, but shows some peculiarity of aggregate packing at high concentration. We recently demonstrated the efficiency of the Synperonic™ family of surfactants in solubilising trichloroethylene (TCE), in particular above a critical concentration of 0.1 M, thus being a good candidate for remediation purposes. Here, the solubility of TCE was correlated with the number and the size of micelles at different surfactant concentrations. Our work helps filling a gap in the literature about technical grade surfactants with odd-number carbons, and the results can help in assessing the performances of Synperonic™ products for technical tasks.

Career development: A balance of opportunities and choices.

Career development: A balance of opportunities and choices.

Shapes of magnetic monopoles in effective SU(2) models

We present a systematic exploration of a general family of effective $SU(2)$ models with an adjoint scalar. First, we discuss a redundancy in this class of models and use it to identify seemingly different, yet physically equivalent models. Next, we construct the Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) limit and derive analytic monopole solutions. In contrast to the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole, included here as a special case, these solutions tend to exhibit more complex energy density profiles. Typically, we obtain monopoles with a hollow cavity at their core where virtually no energy is concentrated; accordingly, most of the monopole's energy is stored in a spherical shell around its core. Moreover, the shell itself can be structured, with several "sub-shells". A recipe for the construction of these analytic solutions is presented.

Validation of the Tagalog and Ilokano translations of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) scale for adult cancer center patients in a state-funded tertiary hospital.

e18524 Background: Patient reported outcomes such as the health related quality of life (HRQOL) is a significant variable that should be used in clinical decision making and health policy. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G), is one of the most widely used HRQOL questionnaires and to make it more accessible globally translation to local dialects are imperative for inclusive service delivery. Prior to use, the validity and reliability of these tools should be established for the population it is intended to cater. Consistent with the mission statement of the hospital the researcher wanted this service to be more accessible and equitable by addressing language differences for our non english speaking end-users. Hence, the study aimed to document validity and reliability of translated Tagalog and Ilokano versions of the FACT-G questionnaire for use in patients catered upon by the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC). Methods: Psychometric evaluation of the above tools was done involving 384 adult cancer patients of BGHMC. Data management and analysis using SPSS software was used to evaluate reliability, face validity, content validity, and construct validity. An addition of cognitive interviews was done with end-users and subsequent thematic analysis aimed to improve questionnaire quality. Results: Both the Tagalog and Ilokano questionnaires had indices above the set value for reliability measured as Chronbach’s alpha of 0.968 and 0.974, content validity indices of 0.95 and 0.95, and face validity indices of 0.98 and 0.98, respectively. Construct validity was established through an exploratory factor analysis comprised of a principal components analysis and Varimax factor rotation with Kaiser normalization. Conclusions: The Tagalog and Ilokano questionnaires are reliable and valid tools for use of approximation of HRQOL of cancer patients catered by the BGHMC. With the results of the validation study it is recommended to incorporate the use of these translated questionnaires to the day to day health service provision to approximate the health-related quality of life of cancer patients. These can also be used as measures to evaluate interventions and policies that are directed towards cancer patients catered in Northern Luzon. To better these questionnaires the revised questionnaires includes the omission of the 7th item in the scale of general social and family well-being to minimize disruptions in rapport due to nature of the question. Another is the reversion of the 2nd item in the scale of general emotional well-being so that it would have the same direction on the approximation of HRQOL with the other items in the scale.

Assessment of the Current Practice of Managing Depression in Patients with Asthma in Saudi Arabia: Physicians' Views.

Depression is a common comorbidity in patients with asthma with a significant impact on clinical management. However, little information is available about physicians' perceptions and current practices in identifying and managing depression in individuals with asthma in Saudi Arabia. Thus, this study aims to assess physicians' views and current practices of identifying and managing depression in patients with asthma in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was employed. Between September 2022 and February 2023, an online survey was distributed to physicians (general practitioners and family, internal and pulmonary medicine specialists) in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the collected responses. Out of 1800 invited participants, a total of 1162 physicians completed the online survey. Nearly 40% of the respondents received adequate training for managing depression. More than 60% of physicians reported that depression interferes with self-management and worsens asthma symptoms, while 50% viewed the importance of regular screening for depression. Less than 40% (n=443) aim to identify depression during patients' visits. Of those, only 20% always screen for depression in asthma patients. Physicians show a low level of confidence when asking patients about their feelings (30%), being able to recognize depression (23%), and knowing if patients have depression (23%). The most common barriers linked to recognizing depression are high workload (50%), lack of time to screen for depression (46%), limited knowledge about depression (42%), and poor training (41%). The rate of recognizing and confidently managing depression in asthmatic patients is significantly low. This is attributed to high workload, poor training, and limited knowledge about depression. There is a need to support psychiatric training and implement a systematic approach to depression detection in clinical settings.

Maximal Density and the Kappa Values for the Families {a, a + 1, 2a + 1, n} and {a, a + 1, 2a + 1, 3a + 1, n}

ABSTRACT Let M be a set of positive integers. We study the maximal density μ(M) of the sets of nonnegative integers S whose elements do not differ by an element in M. In 1973, Cantor and Gordon established a formula for μ(M) for |M| ≤ 2. Since then, many researchers have worked upon the problem and found several partial results in the case |M| ≥ 3, including some results in the case when M is an infinite set. In this paper, we study the maximal density problem for the families M = {a, a+1, 2a+1, n} and M = {a, a+1, 2a+1, 3a+1, n}, where a and n are positive integers and n is sufficiently large. In most of the cases, we find bounds for the parameter kappa, denoted by κ(M), which actually serves as a lower bound for μ(M). The parameter κ(M) has already got its importance due to its rich connection with problems such as the “lonely runner conjecture” in Diophantine approximation and coloring parameters such as “circular coloring” and “fractional coloring” in graph theory. We also give some partial results for the general family M = {a, a +1, 2a + 1,…, (s – 2)a + 1, n}, where s ≥ 5 and mention related problems in the remaining cases for future work.

A change of direction for family policy in Italy: some reflections on the general family allowance (GFA)

We present and discuss the General Family Allowance (GFA), in Italian: Assegno Unico Universale, a measure that the Italian Government and Parliament have put in place from March 2022 addressing the persistent low fertility in Italy. The GFA modernizes monetary transfers in favor of families with children in Italy, covering large groups of families that were previously excluded from full benefits. Even if the aim of the GFA is to support fertility rather than to alleviate child poverty, it is likely that this measure will help to reduce poverty, especially for families with children previously excluded from significant cash contributions, such as recently resident foreigners and the unemployed. In addition, as GFA amounts are modest for wealthier couples, its potential effect on fertility—if there will be any—should be limited to couples with modest incomes. The GFA is also compared with the different systems of monetary transfers in favor of families with children of developed countries.

Narrative review – Barriers and facilitators to promotion of physical activity in primary care

AbstractThe objectiveto provide an overview of the literature on the barriers and facilitators to physical activity (PA) promotion in primary care, as experienced by practitioners and patients.MethodA search strategy of the English‐language literature was conducted in EMBASE, MEDLINE and the COCHRANE LIBRARY. Search terms were primary care OR general practice OR family medicine OR family practitioner AND physical activity OR exercise AND barriers OR facilitators. Databases were searched from inception until 21 October 2022.ResultsAfter screening, 63 articles were included within the summary and content analysis of this review. Analysis of the barriers to the implementation of PA highlighted four main themes perceived by practitioners: time, knowledge/skills, resources/support and financial implications. Analysis of the patient perspective identified themes which were categorised into individual (pre‐existing health conditions, knowledge of benefits of PA, time/capacity), societal (social support and cultural norms) and environmental (availability of facilities and weather).ConclusionsAs the importance of PA increases through the manifestation of sedentary behaviour‐related disease, a combined primary care and public health approach to increase PA is required. By identifying the main barriers to PA promotion in primary care, resources and funding can be directed to address this. This is particularly relevant in the United Kingdom, with the re‐negotiation of the primary care contract and the changes to healthcare delivery as a consequence of the Covid‐19 pandemic. Throughout this review, we have explored ways of addressing the identified barriers through evidence‐based interventions.

Diffeomorphisms as quadratic charges in 4d BF theory and related TQFTs

We present a Sugawara-type construction for boundary charges in 4d BF theory and in a general family of related TQFTs. Starting from the underlying current Lie algebra of boundary symmetries, this gives rise to well-defined quadratic charges forming an algebra of vector fields. In the case of 3d BF theory (i.e. 3d gravity), it was shown in [1] that this construction leads to a two-dimensional family of diffeomorphism charges which satisfy a certain modular duality. Here we show that adapting this construction to 4d BF theory first requires to split the underlying gauge algebra. Surprisingly, the space of well-defined quadratic generators can then be shown to be once again two-dimensional. In the case of tangential vector fields, this canonically endows 4d BF theory with a diff(S2) × diff(S2) or diff(S2) ⋉ vect(S2)ab algebra of boundary symmetries depending on the gauge algebra. The prospect is to then understand how this can be reduced to a gravitational symmetry algebra by imposing Plebański simplicity constraints.

The Evolution of Primary Care Telehealth Disparities During COVID-19: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Telehealth has become widely used as a novel way to provide outpatient care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but data about telehealth use in primary care remain limited. Studies in other specialties raise concerns that telehealth may be widening existing health care disparities, requiring further scrutiny of trends in telehealth use. Our study aims to further characterize sociodemographic differences in primary care via telehealth compared to in-person office visits before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine if these disparities changed throughout 2020. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in a large US academic center with 46 primary care practices from April-December 2019 to April-December 2020. Data were subdivided into calendar quarters and compared to determine evolving disparities throughout the year. We queried and compared billed outpatient encounters in General Internal Medicine and Family Medicine via binary logic mixed effects regression model and estimated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs. We used sex, race, and ethnicity of the patient attending each encounter as fixed effects. We analyzed socioeconomic status of patients in the institution's primary county based on the patient's residence zip code. A total of 81,822 encounters in the pre-COVID-19 time frame and 47,994 encounters in the intra-COVID-19 time frame were analyzed; in the intra-COVID-19 time frame, a total of 5322 (11.1%) of encounters were telehealth encounters. Patients living in zip code areas with high utilization rate of supplemental nutrition assistance were less likely to use primary care in the intra-COVID-19 time frame (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.90-0.98; P=.006). Encounters with the following patients were less likely to be via telehealth compared to in-person office visits: patients who self-identified as Asian (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.63-0.86) and Nepali (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.19-0.72), patients insured by Medicare (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.68-0.88), and patients living in zip code areas with high utilization rate of supplemental nutrition assistance (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.71-0.99). Many of these disparities persisted throughout the year. Although there was no statistically significant difference in telehealth use for patients insured by Medicaid throughout the whole year, subanalysis of quarter 4 found encounters with patients insured by Medicaid were less likely to be via telehealth (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.55-0.97; P=.03). Telehealth was not used equally by all patients within primary care throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically by patients who self-identified as Asian and Nepali, insured by Medicare, and living in zip code areas with low socioeconomic status. As the COVID-19 pandemic and telehealth infrastructure change, it is critical we continue to reassess the use of telehealth. Institutions should continue to monitor disparities in telehealth access and advocate for policy changes that may improve equity.

The geometric classification of nilpotent algebras

We give a geometric classification of n-dimensional nilpotent, commutative nilpotent and anticommutative nilpotent algebras. We prove that the corresponding geometric varieties are irreducible, find their dimensions and describe explicit generic families of algebras which define each of these varieties. We show some applications of these results in the study of the length of anticommutative algebras.

EXAMINATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE'S FAMILY BELONGING ACCORDING TO PARENTAL ATTITUDE PERCEPTION AND SOME VARIABLES

This study aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between the perception of family authority and the level of family sense of belonging among young people. Data were collected from 217 students who continue their education in the department of child development at the associate and undergraduate levels at Kırıkkale University. “Family Sense of Belonging Scale" was used to measure the sense of belonging, and "Parental Attitude Scale" was used to measure the perception of family authority. According to the results obtained from the research, a significant difference was found between the oppressive-extremely controlling parental attitudes and the democratic and liberating parental attitudes in the sub-dimension of self-belonging. In addition, a significant difference was found between the oppressive-extremely controlling parental attitude and the democratic and liberating groups in general family sense of belonging. Over-controlling parental attitudes decrease self-relatedness and general family belonging relatively compared to other dimensions. It was determined that the protective-demanding parental attitude was the most common perception among the participants, followed by the democratic parental attitudes. It was concluded that the general family belonging of the participants was high, and especially the self-affirmation was higher than the sub-dimension of family sense of belonging. It was concluded that the perception of family sense of belonging was highest in family structures where the best understood member of the family was the mother, and the perception of family belonging was the lowest in the participants who got along best with their grandparents.

Reliability-informed end-of-use decision making for product sustainability using two-stage stochastic optimization

The concept of circular economy has been diffused in recent decades to promote economic growth that does not add to the burden on natural resource extraction. Re-X options (e.g., reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, recycle) have been gradually adopted in the product development process and optimized to reduce or eliminate waste and pollution. Although manufacturing incorporating Re-X options can be more environmentally friendly, it involves more sources of uncertainty than traditional manufacturing since the end-of-use products can be collected from multiple origins with various quantities and qualities, and the market demand for both new and remanufactured products cannot be forecasted perfectly. Thus, there is a need to optimize the Re-X policy to alleviate the negative impacts of the higher uncertainty. One option is using the reliability information of new products to estimate the end-of-use conditions and applying multi-stage stochastic optimization to capture multiple demand scenarios. This paper develops a two-stage stochastic optimization model to optimize the quality thresholds for reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing options. Our objective is to minimize the total cost, energy consumption, and environmental impact of producing and providing warranty service for a product family. The model employs reliability information of product components to estimate the warranty service cost and the end-of-use conditions of the returned resources. A case study on a general product family is implemented to illustrate the efficacy of the optimization model. Results show that the two-stage optimization can achieve cost and environmental impact reduction for a hybrid manufacturing and remanufacturing process.

On asymptotic distributions of several test statistics for familial relatedness in linear mixed models.

In this study, the asymptotic distributions of the likelihood ratio test (LRT), the restricted likelihood ratio test (RLRT), the F and the sequence kernel association test (SKAT) statistics for testing an additive effect of the expected familial relatedness (FR) in a linear mixed model are examined based on an eigenvalue approach. First, the covariance structure for modeling the FR effect in a LMM is presented. Then, the multiplicity of eigenvalues for the log-likelihood and restricted log-likelihood is established under a replicate family setting and extended to a more general replicate family setting (GRFS) as well. After that, the asymptotic null distributions of LRT, RLRT, F and SKAT statistics under GRFS are derived. The asymptotic null distribution of SKAT for testing genetic rare variants is also constructed. In addition, a simple formula for sample size calculation is provided based on the restricted maximum likelihood estimate of the effect size for the expected FR. Finally, a power comparison of these test statistics on hypothesis test of the expected FR effect is made via simulation. The four test statistics are also applied to a data set from the UK Biobank.

Sigma chromatic number of the middle graph of some general families of trees of height 2

Let [Formula: see text] be a nontrivial connected graph and let [Formula: see text] be a vertex coloring of [Formula: see text] where adjacent vertices may have the same color. For a vertex [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] the color sum [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] is the sum of the colors of the vertices adjacent to [Formula: see text] The coloring [Formula: see text] is said to be a sigma coloring of [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text] whenever [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are adjacent vertices in [Formula: see text] The minimum number of colors that can be used in a sigma coloring of [Formula: see text] is called the sigma chromatic number of [Formula: see text] and is denoted by [Formula: see text] In this study, we show that the sigma chromatic number of the middle graph of full binary trees of height [Formula: see text] is 2. We also determine a lower bound for the sigma chromatic number of graphs containing an induced subgraph isomorphic to a complete graph joined by pendant vertices. With this lower bound, we obtain the sigma chromatic number of the middle graph of the graphs [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] stars, bistars, and the middle graph of some families of trees of height 2.

Attitudes, confidence, barriers and current practice of managing depression in patients with COPD in Saudi Arabia: a national cross-sectional survey

ObjectiveTo investigate physicians’ perceptions and current practices of identifying and managing depression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).DesignA cross-sectional online survey was employed between March and September 2022.SettingsSaudi...

Implicit Annealing in Kernel Spaces: A Strongly Consistent Clustering Approach.

Kernel k-means clustering is a powerful tool for unsupervised learning of non-linearly separable data. Its merits are thoroughly validated on a suite of simulated datasets and real data benchmarks that feature nonlinear and multi-view separation. Since the earliest attempts, researchers have noted that such algorithms often become trapped by local minima arising from the non-convexity of the underlying objective function. In this paper, we generalize recent results leveraging a general family of means to combat sub-optimal local solutions to the kernel and multi-kernel settings. Called Kernel Power k-Means, our algorithm uses majorization-minimization (MM) to better solve this non-convex problem. We show that the method implicitly performs annealing in kernel feature space while retaining efficient, closed-form updates. We rigorously characterize its convergence properties both from computational and statistical points of view. In particular, we characterize the large sample behavior of the proposed method by establishing strong consistency guarantees as well as finite-sample bounds on the excess risk of the estimates through modern tools in learning theory. The proposal's efficacy is demonstrated through an array of simulated and real data experiments.

A Study on the Repurchase Intention of Chinese Consumers’ Meal-Kit Products: Focused on the lazism(laziness) - ‘Single Family’ vs ‘General Family’-

A Study on the Repurchase Intention of Chinese Consumers’ Meal-Kit Products: Focused on the lazism(laziness) - ‘Single Family’ vs ‘General Family’-

Cavitating Consolidation with Acute Febrile Respiratory Illness & ‘Sister Cavities’ Without Typical Constitutional Symptoms in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Rare But Possible!

Community acquired pneumonia is the most common cause for lung parenchymal infiltrates in chest radiograph in scenarios with acute febrile respiratory illness. Tuberculosis in India accounts for the highest number of cases and deaths in the world. In spite of an efficient National tuberculosis control program for five decades, Tuberculosis is still the number one cause of death due to infectious agents in India and one third of total global deaths occurs in India due to this disease. Tuberculosis may present with consolidation, cavitation, coin lesion, parenchymal infiltrates and hilar mass like lesions. Acute febrile respiratory illness without typical constitutional symptoms is not frequently described in pulmonary tuberculosis. In this case report, a 69-year male, presented with acute febrile respiratory illness of short duration. He was having high grade fever, cough, shortness of breath & haemoptysis of less than two weeks duration. His symptoms were progressive and empirically treated as lower respiratory tract infection or community acquired pneumonia with oral and intravenous antibiotics by general physicians and family physicians. Family physician referred to our center for worsened general health with increased shortness of breath with episodes of minimal haemoptysis. Chest x-ray documented right lower lobe consolidation which has progressed to central cavitations and thick pericavitary rim of consolidation mimicking lung abscess. Clinically he was having crepitations in the right inframammary and infrascapular area with egophony heard. HRCT thorax showed consolidation with cavitation in the superior segment of the right lower lobe and adjacent small cavity in the posterior segment presenting as a ‘Sister cavity’ accompanying a large parent cavity. He was unable to produce sputum and we have processed induced sputum examination which has documented acid-fast bacilli in smear and MTB genome with rifampicin sensitivity in cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test. Initially, microbiologists refused for smear preparation due to salivary nature and poor-quality sputum. We have insisted for microbiology workup due to high chances of yield due to cavitary lung disease and noted positive yield. Treatment initiated with anti-tuberculosis (ATT). We have recorded near complete radiological resolution, bacteriological cure after eight months of ATT with good compliance. Acute febrile respiratory illness and absence of typical constitutional symptoms is not uncommon. Although cavitating consolidation is commonly described in community acquired pneumonia, presence of ‘sister cavity’ is a radiological clue to think and proceed to workup towards active pulmonary tuberculosis. Induced sputum has a very significant impact on diagnostic yield. Pulmonary tuberculosis should be suspected early in cases with cavitating consolidations to have a successful treatment outcome.

Subject-matter and intensional operators I: conditional-agnostic analytic implication

Although logical settings are typically concerned with tracking alethic considerations, frameworks exist in which topic-theoretic considerations—e.g., tracking subject-matter or topic—are given equal importance. Intuitions about extending topic through a propositional language are generally straightforward for extensional cases. For a number of reasons, arriving at a compelling account of the subject-matter of intensional operators—such as intensional conditionals—is a more difficult task. In particular, the framework of topic-sensitive intentional modals (TSIMs) championed by Francesco Berto and his collaborators leave the topics of intensional formulae undefined, which artificially constricts the expressivity of the theory. This paper proposes an approach to fill in this lacuna, emphasizing an analogous problem in Parry-style containment logics. In this setting, the approach receives a proof-of-concept through the introduction of a natural and general family of subsystems of Parry’s {textsf{PAI}}—with sound and complete axiomatizations—that allow a fine degree of control over the topics of intensional conditionals.